Il libro dell'inquietudine di Bernardo Soares

Bernardo Soares, a bookkeeper's assistant in Lisbon, is the voice of this collection of fragments, a semi-heteronym of Pessoa himself. Over hundreds of short entries, written over decades and left unfinished in a trunk, he records his daydreams, dislike of action, observations of the city's streets and offices, and thoughts on identity and boredom. Pessoa called it a factless autobiography, and the entries can be read in any order.

It is for readers who like introspective, melancholic writing and who do not need a plot. It suits those who like to read a page at a time and underline sentences.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and open-ended; a demanding read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?